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Probing Question

Probing Question

The term umami was coined in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who identified the chemical basis for the flavor. The taste itself "is the meaty, brothy, savory sensation we perceive from certain amino acids."

China is sometimes called "The Red Dragon," but another, less common nickname for the world's third largest country is "The Kingdom of Bicycles." For some economists, the bicycle -- a vehicle that must keep moving to remain stable and maintain forward momentum -- is an apt metaphor for China's economy. For over three decades, China has had the world's fastest growing major economy. But some believe that the speed and size of its recent expansion mean the country is steering headlong into a crisis.

The Jan. 7 massacre of 12 journalists in Paris has renewed debate about freedom of expression. What do the U.S. Constitution and courts say about the publication of inflammatory and offensive material?

It has been exactly one hundred years since Sigmund Freud penned his pivotal essay "On Narcissism." It's easy to wonder how the father of psychoanalysis might react to society today, especially the millennials who came of age around the year 2000 and have been dubbed the "Me Me Me Generation." The social media-focused culture of selfies, Twitter, and Facebook is often criticized for making Americans, younger ones in particular, more self-absorbed and entitled.

Over 45 million turkeys are eaten by Americans each Thanksgiving, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hunters provide some -- last autumn, about 24,000 wild turkeys were harvested in Pennsylvania. Vegetarians might serve up a soybean-based alternative, like Tofurky.

Tis the season -- the season for fright, that is. Haunted houses, monster mazes, horror movies, and ghost stories: October is the month in which we dwell in the darker corners of our imaginations. But with today's news channels filled with scary true-life tales of epidemics and war, why do people seek out make-believe chills and thrills?

Today, we are at the brink of a radical shift in our transportation technology. Will Americans -- famous for our car culture -- accept a more passive role as passengers in largely self-driving cars? "Absolutely," says Sean Brennan, director of Penn State's Intelligent Vehicles and Systems Group. "Drivers today are already quite willing to give up their driving tasks, as long as it is to someone that they implicitly trust. We see this every time someone hails a taxi, hires a chauffeur, or hands the keys over to a friend on a long drive."

One of the most popular recent self-help trends for insomnia and anxiety is also among the more unusual ones. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or "sounds that feel good." The sound of whispering is considered the most common trigger for the ASMR feelings.

Could digital currency be poised to replace paper money? The pursuit of an independent digital currency began in the early 1990s, explains John Jordan, clinical professor of supply chain and information systems at Penn State. Today's big contender, the Bitcoin, was introduced in 2008 by a person (or group of people) known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is a digital payment network that allows users to engage in direct transactions without the oversight of a banking organization or government.

Penn State political scientists Michael Berkman and Eric Plutzer explain that, despite 40 years of court cases ruling against teaching creationism in American public schools, the majority of high school biology teachers are not strong classroom advocates of evolutionary biology.

It's one of the most famous global public health success stories of the 20th century: the near-eradication of polio, the dreaded childhood disease that paralyzed or killed over half a million people around the world annually at its peak in the 1940s and 50s. However, in early May 2014, the World Health Organization released a statement pointing to an alarming spike in the international spread of wild poliovirus, originating from three "hot spot" nations, Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon. The WHO called this an "international health emergency" requiring "extraordinary measures." Could we be facing another polio epidemic?

The Aztecs, Mayans, and ancient Egyptians were three very different civilizations with one very large similarity: pyramids. However, of these three ancient cultures, the Egyptians set the standard for what most people recognize as classic pyramid design: massive monuments with a square base and four smooth-sided triangular sides, rising to a point. (The Aztecs and Mayans built their pyramids with tiered steps and a flat top.)

"You're growing tired. Your eyelids are getting heavy. You're feeling very sleepy..." Most of us recognize these words as the Hollywood script of a hypnosis session. Typically portrayed as the tool of comics and hucksters ("At my command, you will crow like a rooster...") or nefarious, mind-controlling villains, hypnosis has a serious type-casting problem to overcome. Beyond the stereotypes, is there any validity to hypnosis as a therapeutic technique?

"If you've had an X-ray taken at a hospital in the past decade, the chance that it was read by a radiologist elsewhere in the world is pretty high," says Jonathan Clark, assistant professor of health policy and administration. "That's because around 90 percent of hospitals in the United States now outsource some portion of their radiology services."

Think you're healthy because you work out? Although your exercise regimen is good for your body, it may not be enough to counteract the negative effects of sitting. "A recent survey found that many of us spend about eight hours a day being sedentary, not including time spent sleeping," says David Conroy, Penn State professor of kinesiology. "We sit all day at work and then we go home and we sit in front of the TV. These types of long, uninterrupted sitting episodes have been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers, each of which has been linked with mortality."